In the
Marvel Comics universe, the Reavers are a team of cyborgs dedicated to the destruction of the mutant super hero team X-Men. A number of the cyborgs especially want to take revenge on one particular X-Man,
Wolverine, for the destruction of their human bodies, and forcing them to resort to such drastic measures for survival.
The first of the Reavers to encounter the X-men was Donald Pierce in
Uncanny X-Men #229, the former white king of the inner circle of
the Hellfire Club. At the time he bore only a cyborg arm. Pierce sent three Hellfire mercenaries, to capture and kill Wolverine. They failed miserably and suffered near fatal wounds in the adamantium claws of
Logan, who left Cole, Macon, and Reese for dead. The Inner Circle, who had the three turned into cyborgs, recovered the mercenaries. The three then captured Wolverine when the Inner Circle attacked the X-Men’s Westchester County headquarters, but Wolverine overcame the three men once again.
Lady Deathstrike, who had just been transformed into a cyborg herself by
Spiral, recruited Cole, Macon, and Reese. She unsuccessfully led them in an attempt to destroy Wolverine.
Additionally, a criminal gang of cyborgs known as the Reavers lived in a small, otherwise deserted town in the Australian outback. By using an
aborigine mutant Gateway, who they held captive by reason of threatening his people’s holy ground, they teleported to various locations in the south pacific to wreak havoc and mayhem. On one occasion, the Reavers robbed the Hoan International Bank in
Singapore, murdering most of the Hoan family in the process. They abducted Jesse Hoan, who was an executive working at the bank. Jesse Hoan would later become the crime lord
Tyger Tiger, and would forever cite this instance as the reason to turn to a life of crime.
In response to the assault on the bank, the sorceress Roma transported the X-Men to the Reavers’ base in
Australia. There, the X-Men defeated the Reavers once again.
Bonebreaker, Skullbuster, and Pretty Boy, three Reavers that escaped capture during this battle, used Gateway to teleport away. The remaining Reavers were convinced to pass through the Siege Perilous, a magic doorway that judges people and gives them a chance to redeem themselves, and have not been seen since. The X-Men then decided to adopt the Reavers’ base as their own, using Gateway in a friendlier fashion to travel from the desolate location to various other parts of the globe.
Donald Pierce reassembled the Reavers under his own command as a team consisting of himself, Lady Deathstrike, Cole, Macon, Reese, Bonebreaker, Pretty Boy, and Skullbuster. They returned to the original Reavers compound in the outback when it was unoccupied, and ambushed Wolverine when he returned. After a short battle, they captured Logan and
crucified him on a giant X as an omen to the rest of Xavier’s team. Wolverine freed himself, recovering by means of his mutant healing factor, and escaped. Eventually the X-Men abandoned the Australian base, feeling that their numbers were too small to defend against the Reavers. As a means of escape, most of the remaining X-Men stepped through the
Siege Perilous and began new lives elsewhere in the world.
Pierce and his Reavers attempted a number of failed attacks against the X-Men. The Reavers were attacked and annihilated by giant robot
Sentinels controlled by the mutant time-traveler
Trevor Fitzroy. Pierce, Deathstrike, and Skullbuster has since reappeared, apparently being the only members of the team to have survived the attack.
Although they gained and lost a few members throughout their tenure of terror, the Reavers have had the following members:
Donald Pierce- piece-by-piece Pierce became less human and more cyborg. From these implants he was given super-human strength, a higher stamina, more durability, heightened sensory abilities, and the ability to deliver shocking electrical charges through his arms.
Bonebreaker- The original leader of the Reavers, Bonebreakers lower extremities were replaced with a small armored, and heavily armed set of
tank treds.
Pretty Boy- another original Reaver, he could shoot steel coils from his body to ensnare his target. He could also project
fiber optic cables from his eye sockets and "reprogram" other people's minds.
Skullbuster-One of the three original Reavers, he possessed mechanical legs, and super-human strength.
Cole, Macon, and Reese- After each battle with the X-men (or more specifically Wolverine) these mercenaries became less human and more robotic. It was unclear if their enhancements granted any other abilities than that of more
armament.
Lady Deathstrike- Driven by thought of revenge on Wolverine, Deathstrike augmented her body, giving her retractable cyborg claws that could span two feet in length, computer enhanced electronics that let her better connect to her memories, and a
healing factor.
Cylla-Built by Pierce, she continued to pursue Wolverine after the Sentinels massacred the Reavers. Her partner Bloodscream, who drained her of her
life force, destroyed her.
One of the things that made the Reavers an interesting nemesis to the X-Men was that even though they were severely outclassed at times, they refused to accept their defeat. Much like the zombies in
Night of the Living Dead, they just kept coming. They notched their place in comics history by forcing the X-Men through the Seige Perilous, and thus changing the face of the classic team forever.